Monday, February 27, 2012

“LEGISLATION REQUIRING SANITATION AGENTS TO SUBMIT PHOTOS WITH SUMMONSES IS THE
ANTIDOTE TO BOGUS TICKETS”

At
a press conference today, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) will announce
that he and Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) are introducing legislation
which will require DSNY agents to photograph and document the condition of a
property at the time a sanitation ticket is issued. Calling the bill “the
antidote to bogus tickets,” Hikind said the legislation comes in response to
three recent instances where New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY)
agents were captured on surveillance video in Brooklyn issuing fraudulent
tickets to honest New Yorkers. The Assemblyman is demanding that DOI open an
investigation into these and other cases.

According
to the New York City Council Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management,
there were 262,426 tickets issued by DSNY in Fiscal Year 2011 for premises
violations. The Hikind-Klein legislation is based on successful models in both
Boston and Chicago, where sanitation agents are provided with a mobile device that
allows them to take photographs with a time and date stamp, and upload the
photos and summons to the central database.

“I
would like to believe that DSNY agents are, for the most part, honest when
issuing summonses,” said Hikind. “But these surveillance videos tell a
different story, and this legislation will serve as a system of checks and
balances on these agents to ensure that they are not filing a false instrument
when tickets are issued. If we know about these three false tickets, I can only
imagine how many more cases of fraud there must be.”

“Sanitation
tickets are a minimum of $100,” Hikind noted. “This is a tremendous financial
burden, especially in today’s economy and for those living on a fixed income.
My office is often inundated with constituents who cannot pay these unjust
summonses. These false violations are nothing more than a money-maker for the
City. This legislation will not only protect current victims of the system, but
it will also reduce paperwork and the cost of adjudication proceedings.”

Hikind
added, “Anyone who has ever received a violation knows it always comes down to
their word against the agent’s word. With photographic evidence, there can be
no dispute as to the guilt or innocence of a property owner. It’s a win-win for
the City and for New York City’s residents.”

"A
picture is not only worth a thousand words, but also time, money, and faith in
the system,” said Senator Klein. “Boston and Chicago have already taken this
commonsense step into the digital age. It's time for New York to follow suit.
I'm proud to partner with Assemblyman Hikind on this important
initiative."

“Transparency
is incredibly important to the process of issuing violations on behalf of a
City agency,” said Council Member Letitia James, Chair of the Council’s
Sanitation Committee. “Requiring DSNY agents to provide property owners with
photographic evidence of a violation at their premises would assist in proper
management of residences, and deter the handful of wayward agents from
fraudulent behaviors. I join my colleagues in their commitment to maintaining
the integrity of the Department of Sanitation.”